Today's Date: March 28, 2024
G&A INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES 2024 PATHFINDER WEBINAR SERIES: Navigating the New Regulatory Environment for Corporate Sustainabili   •   35 National Partners Representing Over 3 Million Women Join Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation's Growing Coalition   •   Impact Communications Signs Best-Selling Book Author and Financial Advisor Coach Derrick Kinney   •   Newman University Receives $1.2M Towards Higher Education Access for Southwest Kansas Initiative   •   MDA SPACE INCLUDED IN THE GLOBE & MAIL'S ANNUAL WOMEN LEAD HERE RANKING   •   Colibri Group Announces Partnership with The University of Tulsa for Professional Licensure Program for Students in Real Estate,   •   Argonne-Supported Critical Materials Assessment Tags Potential Supply Chain Bottlenecks   •   Scotiabank ranks on The Globe and Mail's annual Women Lead Here benchmark of executive gender diversity for the fourth consecuti   •   Key Piece of “Titanic” Movie Memorabilia Purchased By Titanic Museum Attraction   •   Six Degrees Marketing Recognized on the 2024 Inc. 5000 Regionals List   •   JAMS Diversity Fellowship Accepting Applications   •   First Book and Ashoka Announce 15 Youth Challenge Winners in Time for Change Nationwide Initiative   •   Sila Moses Lake Manager Rosendo Alvarado to Speak at Big Bend Community College Building the Future Energy Workforce Event   •   Consolidated Credit Launches Free Webinar Series to Empower Individuals During Challenging Economic Climate   •   Dawson-Forté Cashmere Shareholders Sell Majority Equity Stake to Tempus Partners   •   RICE Announces Strategic Leadership Additions, Cementing Its Role as the Nation's Largest Entrepreneurial Hub   •   Paralyzed Veterans of America to honor former Senator Elizabeth Dole with 2024 Gordon H. Mansfield Congressional Leadership Awar   •   Terragia Secures $6M to Develop Cost-Competitive, Low-Carbon Biofuel Technology   •   Tax Tip From MEFA: Send Your Tax Refund Directly to Your 529   •   Ziebart Salutes Franchisees, Veterans & Community in Celebration of 65-Year Legacy and Reveals Future Initiatives
Bookmark and Share

Black Lives Matter: Justice Served in $2.5M Riverside Case

Black Lives Matter: Justice Served in $2.5M Riverside Case

Harris & Hayden settles case upholding original jury verdict

PR Newswire

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As America continued its battle against the latest coronavirus surge, the impending shutdown of some of its busiest cities, deepening political unrest and the looming holiday season, Harris & Hayden Law (formerly Harris & Associates) continued to fight for the rights of its client, Sybil Davis, mother of deceased Anthonie Smith, a mentally ill African American man fatally shot eight times by Riverside County sheriff's deputies on July 16, 2015.

Five years after her son's killing due to excessive force and two years after a two-week trial where the jury awarded $2.5 million to Ms. Davis, she and Riverside County finally settled her case. Riverside County appealed the settlement judgment despite jurors' wishes and the will of the public. However, following oral argument on Nov. 12 before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, parties agreed to mutually resolve this matter for an amount equal to the original jury award. 

As in far too many excessive force incidents, Ms. Davis called the Riverside County Sheriff's Department to explain that her son was acting irrationally and having a psychotic episode that required assistance. Deputies arrived on the scene, entered the apartment, and confronted Smith. An altercation ensued in which Smith struck one deputy and escaped by jumping from a second-story window. Later that morning, officers responding to a call for service discovered the decedent. When he appeared to swing a pair of pliers at them, they responded by shooting him seven times.

After being shot, Smith fell to the ground, got back up, and stood before them, wobbling and unarmed. As he rocked backward, one deputy aimed and took the final shot, causing Smith to collapse and later die. The case went to trial, and the jury ruled in favor of the plaintiff, reaching a $2.5 million verdict.

"In 2018, the Davis vs. Riverside $2.5M was one of the largest excessive force verdicts in the country for the year," said the defendant's attorney, John Harris, partner at Harris & Hayden Law.

Herbert Hayden, partner at Harris & Hayden, remarked, "We were encouraged and hopeful. We believed verdicts like these helps send an important message about policing and excessive force." 

Harris said, "In 2015, Anthonie cruelly was silenced forever, but the Riverside jurors gave him his voice. With the 2020 appeal, he was being silenced a second time."

Five years after Smith's tragic death, law enforcement's horrific excessive force on Black American citizens is repeated consistently, and the failure to contain these events is ongoing.

Harris & Hayden Law has worked nonstop to defend and secure justice for the unheard. Although excessive force by police can affect people of all ethnicities and backgrounds, the victims of this injustice are primarily people of color. At Harris & Hayden Law, we believe Black Lives Matter.

Harris & Hayden Law is a champion of civil rights and equality for all people. We have represented clients in courts, arbitration and administrative forums throughout California and the U.S. To download the Harris & Hayden media kit, click the following link: https://bit.ly/2Rjyrmq.

Media Contact:

Hampton Bates Public Relations

Sylvia Hampton

T 603.570.4816

260585@email4pr.com 

Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/black-lives-matter-justice-served-in-2-5m-riverside-case-301186004.html

SOURCE Harris & Hayden Law



Back to top
| Back to home page
Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News